Spain Welcomes King Felipe VI Amid Discord

Low-Key Ceremony Was Designed for Time of Austerity, Divisions Over Monarchy

Spain's crown prince was proclaimed King Felipe VI on Thursday, succeeding his high-living father in a low-key ceremony before a joint session of parliament. He also received the red sash of captain general of the armed forces from his father, Juan Carlos. Watch cremony highlights. Photo: Getty Images

RIVAS-VACIAMADRID, Spain—The installation of King Felipe VI was marked Thursday by low-key festivities adapted for austere times, a reflection as well of the debate in Spain over the relevance of the constitutional monarchy.

Julián Peinado Sánchez, a 55-year-old logistics manager, watched part of the handover on television and called it a testament to how far Spain had come since the tense transition from dictatorship to democracy...